John Pape Online Blog

By Zina Leone

Psalm 23

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Jesus Our Lord

Does the 23rd Psalm remind you of death and funerals? It should, because it’s one of the most common passages of the Bible recited at funerals. Maybe it’s the thought our loved ones “walking through the valley of the shadow of death, fearing no evil” that brings so much comfort. Indeed, this thought is very comforting, but somehow when I read it I don’t think of death at all, but of life.

Our life here is a journey and sometimes we must travel through rough terrain and dark valleys. Sometimes those dark valleys can be so difficult we feel as if we’re traveling through the very “shadow of death.” This is because when we’re faced with trials and tribulation we usually feel so apart from God. Some call it “the dark night of the soul” and it truly is. But the 23rd Psalm is a reminder to us to “fear no evil” because Jesus is always there to give us direction and guidance, no matter how dark it may seem. He is there beside us and “His rod and His staff will comfort us.

In the Bible, Jesus is often referred to as a shepherd and we as His sheep. He watches over us the same way a shepherd watches over his flock. A shepherd always carries a rod to clear away rocks or anything in the way that could possibly harm his sheep. Sometimes he might even use it against wild animals that threaten his flock. The staff he carries has a crook on the end of it and is often used to steer wandering sheep back to the flock. Sometimes it might be used to rescue a lamb that has fallen in a crevice or gotten itself stuck in some bushes. When we think of Jesus as our shepherd, keeping harm away from us, it’s certainly a very comforting thought. We don’t even know how many times He may have used His rod to push Satan away from us. And how comforting it is to know His staff is always ready to guide us back to His fold when we have strayed.

God provides for us and gives all we need. Sometimes we have trouble believing that because our idea of what we need is usually completely different than His. Have you ever wanted something really bad and prayed and prayed, but it didn’t seem like He was listening? He’s listening, but He doesn’t always give us what we want because He knows better than we do what’s good for us. We need to learn to accept whatever it is He wants for us and trust it is for our good. “We shall not want” for anything we need.

Life can be hectic at times and we feel as if we have the weight of the world on our shoulders. Traveling through dark valleys can really tear us apart both physically and mentally. It’s very important for us to try to set aside a time for prayer and meditation. As we shut out the world and try not to think about our problems “He will make us to lie down in green pastures and lead us beside the still waters.” As we do this more and more “He will restore our souls and lead us in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”

In the midst of all our troubles and all the evil influences of the world, He is always there beside us. “He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies.” His Spirit of love and compassion envelopes us as “He anoints our heads with oil. Our cups runneth over.” When we follow Him He assures us “goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives,” and when our journey here has finally ended “we will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”

This is what I see when I read the 23rd Psalm, a step-by-step guide in all areas of our lives. Maybe my view of it is kind of like the adage, a cup half-empty vs. a cup half-full. While some people seem to only associate it with the comfort it brings in death, I am so thankful for the comfort it brings in life.

Source:

Zina Leone is freelance writer and photographer living in southeastern Pennsylvania. She started out in high school, writing articles and poems for the school newspaper and has continued to write about life experiences, opinions, short stories, essays and poems. She published her first book, a storybook for her grandson in 2007 and has recently been chosen to publish an article in a new book coming out in the Fall, Hope Whispers.

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Technorati Tags: Bible, Christian, Faith, Funeral, God, Jesus, psalms

There once was a man named George Thomas, pastor in a small New England town. One Easter Sunday morning he came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit.

Eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak… “I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright.

I stopped the lad and asked, “What do you have there, son?”

“Just some old birds,” came the reply.

“What are you going to do with them?” I asked.

“Take ‘em home and have fun with ‘em,” he answered. “I’m gonna tease ‘em and pull out their feathers to make ‘em fight. I’m gonna have a real good time.”

“But you’ll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do then?”

“Oh, I got some cats,” said the little boy. “They like birds. I’ll take ‘em to them.”

The pastor was silent for a moment. “How much do you want for those birds, son?”

“Huh?? !!! Why, you don’t want them birds, mister. They’re just plain old field birds. They don’t sing. They ain’t even pretty!”

“How much?” the pastor asked again. The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, “$10?”

The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy’s hand. In a flash, the boy was gone. The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free. Well, that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit, and then the pastor began to tell this story:

One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. “Yes, sir, I just caught a world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn’t resist. Got ‘em all!”

“What are you going to do with them?” Jesus asked.

Satan replied, “Oh, I’m gonna have fun! I’m gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to drink and smoke and curse. I’m gonna teach them how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other.

I’m really gonna have fun!”

“And what will you do when you are done with them?” Jesus asked.

“Oh, I’ll kill ‘em,” Satan glared proudly.

“How much do you want for them?” Jesus asked.

“Oh, you don’t want those people. They ain’t no good. Why, you’ll take them and they’ll just hate you.. They’ll spit on you, curse you and kill you. You don’t want those people!!”

“How much? He asked again.

Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, “All your blood, tears and your life.”

Jesus said, “DONE!” Then He paid the price.

The pastor picked up the cage and walked from the pulpit.

Note: Isn’t it funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world’s going to hell? Isn’t it funny how someone can say “I believe in God” but still follow Satan. Isn’t it funny how you can send a thousand jokes through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing? Isn’t it funny how when you go to forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you’re not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it to them? Isn’t it funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us?

Cast your cares upon the Lord, for he cares for you, 1 Peter. 5:7

Jesus Our Lord

Preaching will pierce the heart and soul of people when there has been much prayer by Christians and preachers that have a heart for God and His Word.

Preaching is supernatural. Preaching will bring a person to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Preaching will make a person that has lived in a pathway of sin to realize the error of his ways and run to the throne room of God’s loving grace. Preaching will cause a person, a city or even a nation to live right, act right, think right – God’s right way. That kind of power is available in preaching but it will only be found if preaching has been soaked in prayer.

With prayer the light of heaven is on every word spoken. With prayer the very life of God is breathed into ever word preached. Prayer will cause the anointing of the Holy Spirit to rest on every word like thick oil. Only when the anointing oil of the Holy Spirit is smeared on people’s hearts, minds, souls and bodies can there be conviction of the hardened sinner, healing of broken hearts, inspiration and hope given when in the natural there should never be any.

Prayer soaked preaching will make such powerful preaching that people will tremble in their seats with a holy reverence and joy unspeakable and full of glory. With prayer soaked preaching people will come to the reality that God is real, He is in the room with them, and that there is nothing impossible for Him to do. To the lost teenager, God will quickly become their God and no longer will He just be grandmother’s God and mother’s God, He will be their God.

Only by prayer will the anointing, the oil of the Holy Spirit rest on the message preached until people are totally captivated by the realities of God, His Word, Heaven and Hell, and the love found in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for them. People will see their deep need for a closer relationship to a loving and holy God. They will come away full, and satisfied, having feasted on Living Bread. Having tasted and seen the Goodness of God.

Preaching that has much anointing and oil on it requires “the earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].” (AMP) The anointing oil that will result from that type of prayer will be so great that the effect will be endless. Whole families, churches, cities and nations can be transformed by the full glories found in the salvation of Jesus Christ. Only with “The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man will we see the Greatest Awakening that we must have right now

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Heart To Heart Ministries, founded and directed by Mike and Denise Hartmann-Echterling. http://www.h2hm.org/preachingpower.html

About the Author

Mike and Denise Hartmann-Echterling and Hart To Heart Ministries minister around the world. Denise sings, teaches and with a heart of love allows the power of God to touch the hearts and lives of people. Mike with great passion preaches on the heights that are obtainable to see Christians as they walk in the authority that has been given to them through the cross of Christ. Visit: http://www.h2hm.org

Technorati Tags: Bible, Christianity, Jesus Christ, prayer, preaching